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Reviews

This dress was everything that my daughter wanted. She loved it. She got a lot of compliments on the dress. It was exactly what she wanted and the tiffany blue petticoat provided a great pop of color. She was crazy about the pockets and loved the upgraded fabric. Thanks so much for quickly correcting the dress that was initially sent. It was a simple miscommunication and I thank you for promptly correcting the issue and getting the new dress back to us well before her dance. You are a class act!!!!

About

sewing

pinning to ensure correct fit

My in stock fabrics

sewing

cutting

bringing effortless clothing to the masses

I was born in Greenwich, London. A year after that, my family moved back to Borneo, to a beautiful tropical city called Kota Kinabalu. That's where I spent most of my young life growing up. As a child, my mother used to sew many dresses for me. She took sewing classes, and I used to tag along and sew Barbie doll clothes under the table. When I grew older, my mother taught me how to sew my very first skirt. From then on I was hooked, so much so that I was constantly in trouble at school because I was designing dresses in my textbooks!

By the time I was done with high school, I made up my mind to pursue a degree in fashion design. I enrolled in a three year college for Fashion Design called CENFAD (Center for Advanced Design). In my first three years of my Associate’s Degree in college, I attended classes like textile design, design concepts, and fashion sketching. I absolutely loved what I was doing.

After graduating, I worked at quite a few companies, like Harper's Bazaar magazine and even a bag manufacturing company. But I finally found myself in theater, designing costumes for a private production company. Here is where I discovered the my love for historical costumes especially costumes from the 1940's to 1960's.

After two years in theater, I realized there was more I needed to learn and accomplish. So I decided to head back to school to earn my Bachelor's Degree in the United States.

In the US, I discovered vintage clothing. I found it exciting to find dresses from the 1950's and other eras gone by. So while I was in college, I opened my first Etsy shop, Minicoops vintage clothing. During my vintage clothing hunts, I discovered that a lot of the clothes were in sizes that women don't wear anymore, and the condition of the clothes were less than desirable. It was frustrating that these things were out of my control.

Then a light bulb moment hit! Why don't I recreate these styles of the past and make it available to the everyday woman? So at last I found a perfect meeting ground for my love of historical costumes and designing clothing. That's how MichyLou retro clothing was born.

So right out of college I opened my handmade Retro Clothing shop. I am doing it full time and I didn't even have to look for a job!

Around the web

Shop members

Michelle Tan

Owner, Designer, Maker, Designing, Sewing

I studied Fashion design for 4 years, graduating with a bachelors in fine arts specializing in Fashion design and merchandising. so far I have about 10 years experience in sewing and working in the fashion industry.

mittens and bootsie

Curator, Assistant

my only workmates at home. they keep me company and provide entertainment. although they are kept out of my sewing room to keep the fur at bay.

Christopher

Assistant, Shipper, Handyman

I am Michelle's husband. I am the handyman, I made the tables and peg boards and I also fix the machines if there is a problem. I also help drop off packages when I can.

Manufacturers

sewing production team

Tampa, FL, United States

Michelle designs, creates patterns and sources fabrics. The Tampa production team then cuts and sews dresses in small batches.

Shop policies

Last updated onSeptember 4, 2012

Hello! I strive to create clothing that is unique and high quality at an affordable price. I have 12 years of sewing experience.

your item comes from a smoke free home and pet free studio. please let me know if you are highly allergic to cats. but I do strive to keep my items and studio ( and my house) fur free.

Accepted payment methods

Pay with Visa

Pay with Master Card

Pay with American Express

Pay with Discover

Pay with PayPal

Buy with Apple Pay

Pay with Sofort

Pay with iDeal

Accepts Etsy gift cards

Payment

If you have not paid and I do not hear from you for 3 days I shall cancel the transaction.

Shipping

I Ship using PRIORITY MAIL or FIRST CLASS which are shipping options of the UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE (USPS)
It takes about 2-3 business days to arrive anywhere in the US. it takes about 10 business days for it to arrive on international orders.

INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL CUSTOMS FEES. I WILL not put a lower cost on the package because of fraud.

Please know that all international orders will probably have CUSTOMS FEES
please check with your postal service on the customs fees of your country.

I will Ship to your ETSY Address so please make sure this is the address you want me to ship to.

I ship the next day after I complete the dress (which usually takes 10 working days/ 2 weeks) . I will also include free shipping confirmation.

COMBINED SHIPPING
I would love to combine shipping. If you want to buy multiple items, just send me an email or convo so that I can make necessary arrangements. I usually charge the heaviest item fist then add the discounted shipping for the second item.
all my shipping rates have Insurance included.

Insurance is available for international shipping.

If a package is unclaimed by the buyer or returned to me because of an incorrect address due to a mistake by the buyer, the buyer must repay the shipping & handling fees so that the items may be re-packaged & shipped again.

Refunds and Exchanges

If you are not 100% satisfied with your order, please contact me before you leave negative feedback. We can surely work something out.

I only except returns within 7 days, unworn and in the same condition as when purchased (package must be shipped within 7 days) My customer’s satisfaction is very important to me!

Additional policies and FAQs

Have a great Day! And happy shopping!

Join me on Facebook to see what Projects I am working on and promos for the shop!
www.facebook.com/michelletanretroclothing

You are also welcome to visit my flickr site :
http://flickr.com/photos/23531908@N08/